For teens entering grades 9 – 12

Be the change you wish to see in the world: Come pioneer a new culture during this once-in-a-lifetime inaugural summer at Eden Village!

Our Apprentices — as we call our 9th–12th graders — take a place of honor and responsibility (and fun!) within the larger camp community. Apprentices are very much part of camp, and take advantage of all that the Eden Village programs, facility and staff have to offer — while also going on special teen trips, doing an apprenticeship, building Teen Village, and more. See below for details.

We encourage coming for the full seven weeks if possible, but many teens are coming for one session only — just talk to us.

Philosophy

Our Apprenticeship Program is designed to support, challenge, and inspire Eden Village’s teen leaders. Our teens journey through a rite-of-passage experience of learning, adventure, responsibility, self-exploration and service – and emerge with increased confidence, skills, and awareness of themselves, their communities and the earth. The summer helps in the transition to a healthy, balanced young adulthood: through outdoor experiences that bring us to our growing edges, we find tools for healthy relationships, living from a place of purpose, and speaking from our personal truth.

Program Features

Our Apprentices live in cabins (separate for male and female) with showers, bathrooms and electricity. When in camp, the day involves a balance of structure and choice. Here is some of what sets the Teen Apprenticeship apart from the rest of camp:

• Multi-day Trips. In addition to possible trips related to the apprenticeship, teens have a number of out-of-camp adventures!
   
  • Mountain-Biking Trip: Using human-fueled transportation (bicycles), we take scenic paths to visit, explore and volunteer at partner farms and neighboring communities, in an adventure that sparks discussion of global topics like food justice, social organization, art and activism, and more.
     
  • Rock Climbing Overnight: A technical rock-climbing adventure pushes the group physically and mentally as we consider ideas including leadership, fear and personal potential.
     
  • Four-day Backpacking Expedition: Eden Village Camp is situated right next to the Eastern Interstate of Pedestrian Mobility, a.k.a. the famous Appalachian Trail. Our expedition along it, guided by seasoned wilderness experts, offers meaningful context to explore and build community as well as spend focused time with the natural world and try out new skills in shelter- and fire-building, animal tracking and more. An optional, supervised Solo day within this adventure provides a unique challenge and rite of passage.
• Apprenticeship. In the first week of camp, each teen chooses an Apprenticeship, to learn more extensively in their field of choice. Possible apprenticeships include: Farm, Animal Care, Counselor-in-Training (11th & 12th graders only), Herbal Medicine, Wilderness Skills, Art, Cooking for 100, Pulse (athletics), Ruach (song-leading), Administration, Caretaking/Building, Health & Healing. Teens may propose another area as well. Each apprenticeship is unique, but there are generally three phases:
   
  • Receive instruction;
  • Help instruct younger campers; and
  • Carry out a project (e.g. plan and execute a meal, build adobe benches on the farm, plant a personal permaculture garden, collect campers’ stories for a collaborative art piece, choreograph a site-specific dance for a younger bunk, offer a class or all-camp evening activity or performance, help lead a wilderness trip, etc!). Teen villagers may participate in sharing circles to reflect on their apprenticeship and its challenges and opportunities.
• Permaculture Design and Teen Village. Teens learn Permaculture design principles (sustainable design inspired by nature), then immediately apply them in designing and building Teen Village, their homestead in the woods (in addition to their home in camp). Building Teen Village may include clearing paths and camp space, erecting teepees, setting up an outdoor kitchen, and building other outdoor spaces of their choice. The resulting structures will influence camp for years to come.
   
• Grassroots Day! Near the end of camp, our staff works alongside the teens as the teens plan and implement a uniquely-themed Grassroots Day, where they help direct camp for a day – programming, menu, community norms, everything!
   
• Inter-generational Mentoring. Our teens are deeply involved in mentoring, on both sides of this special nurturing relationship: receiving stories, wisdom and attention from older teachers, as well as serving as role models for the younger campers.
   
• Tools for Community Living. At the weekly Village Meeting, teens come together to discuss any community issue within the safety of the consensus process. Apprentices can learn to facilitate this meeting. Through this and other aspects of close group living, teens build skills for thriving in community: collaboration, compassionate communication, problem-solving and effective conflict resolution.
   

Register now!

In our efforts to learn more about the world around us, we've included a background image of one of the plant species native to our campgrounds. On this page you can find the:

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